Many travelers report an electrical failure which deprived the 700 passengers of heating for more than two hours, while the train was stopped in the heart of the Loiret countryside. Firefighters and the Red Cross were forced to intervene.
An arrival 10 hours later… It was around 6:20 a.m. this Saturday morning that the Intercités train which connects Paris to Clermont-Ferrand finally arrived at the Auvergne station after a delay of several hours. In the middle of the night, almost 700 passengers found themselves stranded nearly 5 hours south of Montargis after a technical breakdown and, for several hours, found themselves in the dark and without heating.
Speaking to BFMTV, Gildas, one of the train passengers, recounts the long hours of waiting in the cold. Firefighters and the Red Cross were forced to intervene and distribute survival blankets.
“We were crying, I hope there weren’t any babies and elderly people, the poor people, frankly what a shame! I was really crying because what’s more, I was next to the door and there had people going to smoke nearby, we stayed for 2.5 hours without heating, it was 8 or 10°C,” he says.
“Zero points”
On social media, several other unlucky travelers also expressed their anger. “I took a train at 6:57 p.m. I was supposed to arrive at my destination at 9:28 p.m…. It’s 3:35 a.m. and I’m still inside. The SNCF zero points honestly!”, said one of them on X, formerly Twitter.
“What are you doing with the SNCF!! The 7 p.m. Paris-Clermont train will arrive at 4 a.m., i.e. 9 a.m. instead of 3:30 a.m.! And people are feeling unwell!!!!”, gets angry another passenger .
In the arrival station, the passengers’ relatives oscillate between anger and resignation, the line already being known for its repeated damage and delays. “We are used to this kind of delays, the train in general, almost 90% is between half an hour and an hour late, this time we are breaking all records”, Philippe Hugo told BFMTV, who is waiting for his wife.
“I have just arrived at the station, it is 5:30 a.m. this Saturday morning, there is no notice board, no SNCF staff, in a station like Clermont-Ferrand, to try to inform the people waiting, I am absolutely stunned by this lack of communication,” he continues.
On the SNCF side, there is a locomotive problem. The railway company apologizes and promises exceptional compensation to passengers.
Because of this breakdown, a second train traveling between Paris and Nevers found itself blocked. He was able to resume his journey around 2 a.m. when the road was finally clear.
2024-01-20 13:53:14
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